NYC art society continues 52-year partnership with Air Force

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jason Medina
  • Air Force Print News
NEW YORK --  Civilian artists unveiled a bit of recent military history at an Upper East Side event Sept. 10, carrying on an American tradition that dates back to the Revolution.

The artists, members of the New York City-based Society of Illustrators, have been embedded in Air Force operations to create original pieces that will help preserve aerospace history. The 64 new pieces, inspired by Operation Iraqi Freedom, are being displayed at the society's Museum of American Illustration here and soon will be formally donated to the Air Force's art collection.

Keith Ferris, perhaps the world's most renowned aviation artist, has been donating art to the Air Force for more than 40 years, including his 25 foot-by-75 foot B-17 Flying Fortress mural displayed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

Mr. Ferris, the son of an Army Air Corps pilot, said his dreams of becoming an aviator were shot down when he was 21 because of serious allergies. But thanks to the art program, he has been able to fly in almost every fighter in the Air Force inventory and log more than 500 hours of flight time since his maiden sortie in 1951.

"Safe to say that I spent the rest of my career staying as close to the Air Force as I could," said Mr. Ferris, who also spent two months at the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. "I'd like to think the civilian world enlisted me."

The history of embedding artists in war dates back to the Roman Empire and evidence of American artists on the front lines can be traced to the American Revolution. The newly created Air Force inherited an art collection from the Army Air Corps and soon looked to the Society of Illustrators to identify qualified civilian artists to participate in its own program.

Artists are not paid for their work, but the Air Force reimburses their travel expenses.

Among the society's most prominent names are Norman Rockwell, Charles Dana Gibson and James Montgomery Flagg, who produced the "I Want You" Uncle Sam recruiting poster in 1917.

"This is our way to promote a unique medium to illustrate our heritage in a way photographs, film or video have yet to effectively duplicate," said Mr. Rusty Kirk, the Air Force’s art program director. "More than 50 years and 9,000 pieces later, we're still operating in fifth gear."